First American Horror Story: Apocalypse Videos Are Full Of Clues And Weirdness

With American Horror Story: Apocalypse just weeks away from premiering on FX, the promotional campaign is now in full swing, which means fans' eyeballs are going to get bombarded with a lot of weird and icky shit. The network recently released a trio of promos for Season 8 that (possibly) offer a lot of (possible) clues about what we'll (possibly) see from this year's big crossover between Murder House and Coven. Let's start off with the longest and most imagery-filled teaser, which appears to lean heavily into the return of the franchise's Antichrist.

Any shot of an off-kilter fetus automatically brings to mind the Star Child from 2001: A Space Odyssey, which is a fitting enough comparison, given the near-future time setting for American Horror Story: Apocalypse. (I certainly wouldn't be shocked if Ryan Murphy & Co. made someone's smart home device get all malicious on its owner.) But with AHS, we know that this li'l baby isn't going to represent anything positive about human evolution, and it likely speaks to the demons, witches and ghouls populating this universe. As previously mentioned, Tate and Vivien's mixed-entity baby Michael, also known as the Antichrist, will be back for this season, and I imagine we'll see the hazardous effects of Constance's unique sense of guardianship.

Within the sands of time in this video, there are also tips of the hat to other religious elements, as well as wartime visuals. There's the inverted pentagram, and all those bats crashing through it, as well as the Hellscape where all the skulls were falling. There's the concept of a fruit-ish plant being opened for all kinds of nastiness to be unleashed upon the world, which might not seem as biblical had it not followed the male and female beings, which might not have seemed so Adam-and-Eve-esque if not for the other stuff. Beyond that, there are lots of explosions of the Mother of All Bombs variety, not to mention the Eve figure's gas mask, which makes me wonder if the Apocalypse in the title is something that's impending, or if it already happened.

The tainted food-plant motif gets more play in this next teaser video.

Two questions come up for me after watching this. One: is that hand attached to someone that will be seen in the season, or is it just part of the overall marketing aesthetic? (It also comes up in the next video.) Two: what are the forces being referenced by the scorpions in these videos? Previously, we saw black and white scorpions actively taking on one another, which hinted at conflict. But here, a dark red one has replaced the white version, and it doesn't seem to have much antagonism going for the other. Also, I may or may not be envisioning that actually not being a black scorpion at all, but one inside a black rubber suit.

Head to the next page to see the third American Horror Story: Apocalypse video.

Check out the third teaser now, which seems heavily influenced by one of the most famous works of art of all time.

Though only half as long as the fig-opening teaser, this one labeled "Hand Out" features way more interesting visuals, thanks to its rapid-paced editing. The main thrust here is the connection between the young person's hand and the creature with the long nails and gnarly fingers, which all feels like a twisted take on Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam. And a more menacing one at that, considering the creature grabs and shakes the human's entire hand, rather than just touching some fingers. Once they let go, that's when we get flashes of destructive settings and fires and other messes.

And is it just me, or was that shadowy figure in those opening shots meant to resemble a clown? It kinda looks like the big puffy buttons on the front, along with poofy sleeves. And that "V" on the face could very well be a smile, right? Right? Or is this just a case of me having a particular form of pareidolia where I see Twisty the Clown's image in everyday things?

Stay tuned for more haunting trailers and teasers from American Horror Story: Apocalypse, and be sure to tune into the FX premiere on Wednesday, September 12, at 10:00 p.m. ET. While waiting, be sure to bookmark our fall premiere schedule to see all the new and returning shows that are coming soon.